The Oregon-based Fellers, 52, takes a traditional--which is to say, minimalist--approach to managing his Olympic partner, Flexible, an Irish Sport Horse stallion owned by Harry and Mollie Chapman.

No massage. No chiropractic. No acupuncture. No special tack. No treadmills, hydrotherapy, feng shui, whatever-therapy. "Normal shoes."

The veterinarian shows up occasionally for, you know, routine shots and stuff, but "we don't see him too often," Fellers said.

"He's pretty sound," Fellers said of his mount. (Flexible did have a couple of fairly serious injuries some years ago, but they were not of the soft-tissue-and-related-lameness variety that so often plagues performance horses.)

If you didn't know better, you might think Fellers was describing the care and feeding of a kid's pony, perhaps, or maybe a well-tended pleasure horse. But Flexible is most definitely neither of those things.

To begin with, Flexible is arguably the top jumper in the world going into the 2012 London Olympic Games. The sixteen-hand stallion is the top-ranked horse on the U.S. Olympic jumping squad, and he is the reigning Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final champion. With his April victory at the 2012 Final in the Netherlands, Flexible became the first American horse in 25 years to claim the World Cup Jumping title.

Oh, and Flexible is sixteen years old. He was the oldest horse in the 31-horse field at the 2012 World Cup Final.

If It Ain't Broke...

Obviously Fellers is doing something right. He's been paired with Flexible since he found the horse jumping "huge jumps" in Ireland as a six-year-old.

Now a veteran, Flexible doesn't need to learn his job.

"We never overtrain him," Fellers said.

Instead, Fellers focuses on "fitness and consistency," with both Flexible and another teenaged partner, the seventeen-year-old Grand Prix-level Irish Sport Horse McGuinness.

"It's not so good to let down an older horse," Fellers said. Flexible hasn't had an extended vacation in about three years, he said.

What Fellers does is to vary the intensity of the work depending on the horse's show schedule. Flexible gets ridden five days a week, with the vast majority of the time spent on flatwork. "Then three to four weeks out from showing, I'll increase it to two times a day. The first session will be a full flat ride--walk, trot, canter, gallop--for about forty to forty-five minutes. Later in the day, he'll go out again for twenty to thirty minutes, just walk-trot or walking and trotting on the trail."

Asked what he works on in those flatwork sessions, Fellers said: "I wouldn't call it dressage, exactly. I mostly focus on the tiniest details regarding his fitness and maneuverability--things he'll need to get around the course, like being able to accelerate and decelerate quickly."

As a competition approaches, Flexible's workouts ramp up incrementally.

"After Del Mar [back-to-back Grand Prix wins at U.S. jumping Olympic observation trials in Del Mar, Calif.], we did flatwork until three weeks before the Calgary observation trials [at Spruce Meadows in Canada]. The first week, we did small gymnastic schools" over fences of about 3'6", Fellers said. "The second week, we did two jump schools. The last week, we did two days of jumping" courses of about 1.45 meters.

Fellers said he tells his students to "ride in different rings. Go on trails." Doing so helps keep horses fresh, and Flexible enjoys it too, he said. The stallion also enjoys his turnout time on "irrigated grass," where he's (no surprise) "pretty good."

Fellers reserves his highest praise for his farrier, Joe McKee, a "great shoer" who's been doing Fellers' horses for 30 years; and for the Irish Sport Horse breed, which he calls inherently hardy.

"There's a saying that the reason Irish horse dealers are poor is that they don't sell many horses because the horses stay sound for so long," Fellers said.

About the Author

Jennifer

Jennifer Bryant, of West Chester, PA, has been a full-time freelancer since 1998, during which time she has edited one magazine (USDF Connection), written or co-written three books (Olympic Equestrian: A Century of International Horse Sport; A Gymnastic Riding System Using Mind, Body & Spirit; The USDF Guide to Dressage), written numerous articles, and edited several books. (More information at www.jenniferbryant.net.) Jennifer is a former editor of Dressage & CT magazine and of the regional all-breed publication Hoof Print. A longtime dressage enthusiast and horse owner, Jennifer is a US Dressage Federation silver medalist.

Comments

The views expressed in the posts and comments of this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Horse or Blood-Horse Publications. They should be understood as the personal opinions of the author. All readers are encouraged to leave comments; all points of view are welcome, but comments that are discourteous and/or off-topic may be removed.

I love it! I had a horse in the '70's who won 3 Puissance classes (jumping 7' or more in each at Wash. International, National Horse Show at Madison Sq. Garden, and Royal Winter Fair) and would have competed in the '80 Olympics had our nation participated, and while I brought him from a skinny, gangly four year old TB to that level, never did I employ a masseuse, chiropractor, crazy supplements, etc. Good hay, pasture, good basic feed, trail rides, varied training schedules, common sense and horse sense provided the platform for a talented horse to thrive. (also took 6 yrs of dedication) I do not think that more than that is necessary. It is refreshing to see someone riding at such a high level revealing himself to be a REAL horseman. Good Luck in London!!

cindy

15 Jul 2012 11:50 PM

GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH IN LONDON WE WILL BE WATCHING

Brenda

17 Jul 2012 12:23 AM

Love to see some common sense.

pam

17 Jul 2012 5:38 AM

No crazy bits or kick boots either.

Sally

19 Jul 2012 5:48 AM

Great to see a REAL horseman. One who knows what is important to a horses physical AND mental well being.

Shirley

19 Jul 2012 7:47 PM

As you're watching the Olympic equestrian events, keep an eye out for spectacular senior athletes; horse (and rider!) ages might surprise you. Here are just a few of the aged competitors hoping to bring home the gold.

The only thing I'd change about the care this horse gets would be to remove his shoes - permanently. Barefoot is best!

donna

25 Jul 2012 6:16 PM

Good luck, Rich! I will always remember our horse buying trip to Ireland, and you found Christina an amazing 5 yr old gelding by Cruising. Routine vet was all he ever had. He never was lame in his 12 years of showing. Enjoying a well deserved retirement. Irish - all the way!

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